DIPTERA OF AUSTRALIA, 

 By Frederick A. A. Skuse. 



Part VI.— THE CHIRONOMID^. 



(Plates xi.-xiv. and xiv. his). 



The descriptions of eight species of Australian Chironomidse 

 have hitherto been published, while four species of Ohironomus 

 mentioned by Walker in his " Notes " appear only to have 

 received names. The described species include seven species of 

 Chiro7wmus, six by Walker and one by Macquart ; and Cerato- 

 pogon rhynchops, Schiner ; all but the latter are described so 

 inadequately as to be quite unintelligible. To these I now add 

 descriptions of sixty-four new species, distributed as follows : — 

 Chironomus 21, Orthodadius 5, Camptocladius 5, Doloplastits 

 (gen.nov, allied to Chironomus) 1, Tanytarsus 7, Metriocnemus 1, 

 Tanypus 1, Isoplastus (gen.nov. allied to Tanyjyus) 3, Procladius 

 (gen.nov. allied to Tanypus) 2, Leptoconops (gen.nov. allied to 

 Ceratopogon) 1, and Geratopogon 17, bringing the total up to 

 seventy-two. 



The Chironomidse, or Midges, constitute one of the most richly 

 represented families of the Nematocera, both in regard to species 

 and individuals. It is principally based on the three original 

 genera — Chironomus, Tanypus, and Ceratopogon, characterised 

 by Meigen in 1803, but has subsequently been subdivided into 

 numerous genera. Our knowledge of the family is at present in 

 a very unsatisfactory state, owing principally to the fact that 

 among those who have contributed towards the literature of the 

 group, only a very small number have bestowed upon their work 

 the unstinted labour and precision requisite in treating with such 

 extremely approximate forms. We find that the characters 

 regarded by one author as most important to notice are held in 



